In a significant blow to the Scottish Conservatives, former minister and party treasurer Lord Malcolm Offord has crossed the floor to join Reform UK. The defection was announced by Reform leader Nigel Farage at a rally in Falkirk on Saturday.
A High-Profile Defection and Holyrood Ambition
The Greenock-born financier, who was made a life peer by Boris Johnson in 2021, confirmed his immediate resignation from the Conservative Party. In a bold move, he also pledged to give up his seat in the House of Lords to campaign for a place in the Scottish Parliament.
Lord Offord told supporters at the Macdonald Inchyra Hotel that he intends to stand for Reform UK in the Holyrood elections scheduled for May next year. He outlined a twin objective for his campaign: to remove the SNP government after 18 years and to present a positive vision for Scotland within the United Kingdom.
Scathing Critique of the Scottish Conservatives
In his remarks, the former Scotland Office minister, who served as minister of exports until the July 2024 general election, launched a stinging attack on his old party. He stated that the Tories had effectively "given up on Scotland".
He characterised the Scottish Conservative party as "regional not national, parochial not political, timid not ambitious". He further criticised it as a party lacking a vision for governing Scotland with a right-of-centre agenda. Lord Offord had previously donated nearly £150,000 to the Conservative Party and stood unsuccessfully for Holyrood in the Lothian region in 2021.
Reform's Growing Footprint in Scotland
Nigel Farage hailed the defection as a "brave and historic act" that would take "Reform UK Scotland to a new level". Lord Offord becomes the latest in a string of defections to Reform in Scotland, following Scottish Tory MSP Graham Simpson and a number of local councillors.
The rally also saw Mr Farage repeat his controversial claim about language in Glasgow schools. When questioned by reporters, Lord Offord defended the Reform leader's comments, stating he was "highlighting an issue which needs to be talked about" and denied it was a "dog whistle", insisting it was a statement of fact.
Lord Offord concluded his speech with a rallying cry, declaring: "Scotland needs Reform and Reform is coming to Scotland." His move signals a potentially disruptive new dynamic in Scottish politics ahead of next year's pivotal elections.
